McLaren’s Jonathan Neale believes F1 teams will relish the opportunity to return to America after a four year break.
F1 last visited the states in 2007 when Lewis Hamilton won the Indianapolis GP, but the sport will now return after the rights holder announced a new deal for 2012 which will see F1 compete in Texas.
“I saw the headline and whilst I’m not aware of details I think most of us in Formula 1 would relish the opportunity to go back to America,” Neale said during a Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes phone-in.
“It’s a really important place for us to be. Our markets and our sponsors all want to operate there and Formula 1 has to do something about the package and the way in which we present it to make it acceptable to one of the world’s largest markets.
“Without any expert knowledge on it – I’m not going to bluff my way through it – I’d say it is fantastic news if it turns out to be true and if we can make it happen.”
F1 hasn’t managed to take off in the US like it has in Europe and Asia, Neale reckons FOM need to look at the formula and possibly tweak it to work in the US.
“I think we may have to look at the whole formula for working in America to serve that market. But again I am no expert in that, there is a FOTA commercial committee as well as CVC and FOM who I’m sure want the same things and are looking at how to make that happen.
“If we are going to back to the States then that is a breakthrough and we should make a really good attempt at doing it well.”
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